Premature baby Maddalena was saved by a pair of scissors

Back in 2012, Kate Douse gave birth to extremely premature twins at only 23 weeks of pregnancy. Kate thought there was no hope for her girls, knowing that normally babies are not considered medically viable until 24 weeks.

But both twins were born alive. Sadly, one of the twins, Isabella, died a few weeks after birth. However, her sister Maddalena defied the odds.

Tiny Maddalena Douse weighed just 13 ounces at birth. Lucky for her, doctors did not know that, because a pair of scissors accidentally left on the scale bumped her weight reading up to 1 pound. One pound is the minimum weight at which physicians in the UK will generally intervene to provide life-saving care to infants born extremely premature. Thus, a mistake ultimately may have saved Maddalena’s life.

At 6 months of age, Maddalena weighed 5 ½ pounds and continued to grow slowly but surely after that. But her path of survival did not always look hopeful to her parents, who admit that they never thought they would bring their baby home. “She’s our little miracle and we’re so glad to have her home in time for Christmas,” Maddalena’s parents told the UK’s The Sun.

“I’m just in awe of her,” says Maddalena’s mom. Watch Maddalena’s incredible story of defying the odds below:

Even in the womb long before birth, babies are incredibly resilient. From conception, they have the innate human drive to survive. Perhaps that is why many abortionists recall “difficult” abortions, where the babies struggle to evade a syringe or escape forceps. Some babies miraculously survive this struggle with the abortionist. They are living witnesses to the brutality of abortion.

Sadly, in countries across the globe (and in nearly every state in the US), Kate could have aborted her babies on the day that they decided to be born. Texas Right to Life will continue to fight for the rights of the prebornuntil every baby like Maddalena is protected and respected.